The number of information items which are displayed to a vehicle driver is increasing continuously due to the rising number of comfort and convenience devices. The comfort and convenience devices which are used in modern vehicles include navigation devices, telecommunication devices, driver assistance systems and warning instructions relating to a large number of devices of the vehicle and to ambient conditions. In many vehicles, what are referred to as multi-function operator control and display devices are therefore used. The display of such multi-function operator control and display devices is conventionally arranged in the center console. Furthermore, such vehicles have what is referred to as a combination instrument near to the vehicle driver's main field of vision, which combination instrument displays dynamic information and monitoring information to which the vehicle driver is, under certain circumstances, intended to react immediately. Recently, the combination instruments not only have conventional round instruments but also freely programmable displays which display information from a navigation device, from a telecommunication device and in particular from the driver assistance systems. Displaying comprehensive information in the combination instrument of the vehicle has the advantage that the vehicle driver only has to avert his gaze slightly from the events on the road in order to perceive the displayed information.
However, if excessively comprehensive information is displayed in the combination instrument, the problem arises that the vehicle driver can no longer quickly and intuitively take in the desired information and he is distracted from driving by the plethora of information on the display of the combination instrument. For this reason, new systems are being developed, such as the provision of information by display devices in a vehicle, in particular by the combination instrument, in the vicinity of the vehicle driver's field of vision. For the displaying of information it is particularly important that the vehicle driver can take in the information as quickly and intuitively as possible. At the same time, the intention is that the information displayed will be particularly relevant for the vehicle driver in the respective driving situation.
German Published Patent Application No. 43 07 367 discloses a display device for a vehicle, which display device has a screen which includes an area in which a freely selectable status information item, which is called up by operator control elements, can be displayed in different forms which can be selected by the operator.
German Patent No. 199 02 136 discloses a combination instrument for a vehicle which has two display panels, the second display panel having a lower luminance than the first display panel, and the two display panels being combined with one another. The combination instrument has a darkening filter, for the transparency of which a high value is selected in wavelength ranges corresponding to a wavelength range of the light emitted by the second display panel, and to a wavelength range of light which has a color which is complementary to a color of the light which is emitted by the second display panel.
Further combination instruments for vehicles are described, for example, in European Published Patent Application No. 1 190 886, European Published Patent Application No. 1 559 995 and PCT International Published Patent Application No. WO 03/057522.
If analog display instruments, such as the round instruments for displaying the engine speed and the display of the velocity are also used in the combination instrument, the problem arises that only a limited area for displaying further information is available on the display.